


Mason Gleeful: a rising power

by SerenaDusk



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reverse Falls (Gravity Falls), Gen, Magic, Mason and Will getting along, Mason has no patience, Mason is a bit of a dick, Maths homework, Stanford is also an ass, Will is too nice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:13:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28939779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerenaDusk/pseuds/SerenaDusk
Summary: Mason has trouble with his homework, but gets some unexpected help from Will. Maybe the family slave isn't as useless as he was made to think. But following his advice means ignoring Stanford. So reallt, that is a win-win.
Kudos: 8





	Mason Gleeful: a rising power

**Life isn’t fair when you’re a twelve-year-old sorcerer.**

William Cipher calmly walked down the halls to the family wing of the manor, where the rooms of the twins were located, as well as Stanford’s, but those were a bit further ahead, and he didn’t need to be there at the moment. The demon had already brought the master his afternoon tea, and the sorcerer had clearly stated he did not desire to be disturbed while he worked. William knew this meant no entering the office until Stanford was having dinner, so he could collect the teacup again. He knew that Mabel was in the ballroom, most likely working on her routine for the show. He didn’t want to go there while she was doing that, in fear of finding himself on the wrong side of her daggers. No, the demon servant was on his way to the study room, where he expected to find Mason. He knew the young master had not completed his work for the day, because he heard master Stanford berate the boy earlier that day. Mason was probably not in the best mood, so maybe a cup of tea would lift his spirits up a little bit. The children were not that old, they were only twelve. They might be different than their peers, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be cut a little slack. William knocked on the door before entering, indeed finding Mason alone, leaning over his books with frustration and anger in his eyes.

“Young master, I wondered if you would like a cup of tea.” Will’s soft voice pulled the boy out of his focus. For a second, the anger got stronger, but it deflated when a cup was placed on the desk and he could see it was filled with a dark tea. He recognized the smell: Earl Grey. That demon might be a fool who needed to know his place, at least he understood what Mason needed on a day like today. “Yes, good. Now out, I need silence.” He huffed, managing not to snap at William. The demon bowed his head. “As you wish, young master. Although if I may, please do not hesitate if you require some assistance. It is not shameful to admit it is too hard without extra explanation.” He spoke before turning on his heel and walking over to the door. If the preteen wanted to be left alone, then he would not ignore that request. But before he could even reach for the handle, the other called him back. “Hold on Cipher. Don’t you have stuff to do for great-uncle Stanford?” He asked, sounding suspicious. Will hesitated but turned around again. “There is always work to do, young master. This does not mean I should not make time if someone needs my help with a more pressing matter. I am your servant too, as you know. It is only if master Stanford calls for me that I have to react immediately, regardless of what I am doing at that time.” He answered calmly. It happened so often that either Mabel pulled him away for target practice, that Fiddleford trapped him somewhere, or that Mason decided Will had been too slow and had to be chained up, that it was impossible to still schedule a whole day of work. Usually, the blue demon just thought out a list of tasks he hoped to get done that day.

Mason narrowed his eyes for a second but then gestured for the servant to come over. William obeyed and sat down on the wooden seat close to the desk chair Mason was sitting on. It was not too comfortable, but the demon did not complain. He was used to much worse after all. It would do for now, and Will could see what the young master was working on just fine. “Oh, this is mathematics. Is that what master Stanford was talking to you about earlier?” He asked carefully, and Mason made a face, nodding reluctantly. “I just don’t get it. It’s supposed to be fundamental, but it keeps changing.” He huffed. “Actually, not really, young master. It appears to be changing because the numbers change, yet it still applies the same way every time. But perhaps it is rather abstract to simply learn the methods of calculation. Perhaps, it will become clearer if you make it so that you can see it.” William answered politely. The boy crossed his arms and glared at the books in front of him. “I don’t see why I need any of this anyway. I want to study magic, but great-uncle Stanford won’t let me if I can’t even do this.” He complained, and Will tilted his head, thinking about it. “Why do you not do both?” He then asked, and Mason stared at him for a second before getting angry again. “Stop talking nonsense, Cipher. Making numbers float around is not going to help me get this done faster.” He practically hissed, and the demon slave cringed, but shook his head. “That’s not what I meant, young master. The mathematics here are very applicable to the magic master Stanford practices and teaches you both. I would assume he wants you to understand the theory before you move on to more advanced magic. It is easy to get out of hand, and by knowing how it is supposed to work, you might be able to avoid serious accidents.”

William paused to think something through. “If you promise not to tell master Stanford, I might know a way to help you understand the math a little bit easier.” He then said, and Mason looked at the servant, narrowing his eyes. “You are willing to go against him?” It sounded very unbelievable. The blue Cipher shook his head. “Not by a long shot, young master. I would simply show a different way with the methods you already know. I only don’t wish for you to tell him is because he wants you to do it his way. I think his way might in this case not be the way that is best suited for how your mind works.” It wasn’t the best idea to basically say that Stanford Gleeful was wrong in any way, and Mason knew immediately why the servant wanted it to be kept between them. Well, he saw no reason why he couldn’t agree to that. “Fine, I won’t tell him. But then you have to show me, and if it works, I want you to not keep it as a one-time thing.” The preteen crossed his arms and stared the servant down. William bowed his head. “Of course, young master. Thank you for understanding.” He answered, then gave a careful smile and studied the homework one more time, deciding how he would show Mason the other way of working this math. Then he got up and walked over to the middle of the room. The boy stared at him, very suspicious, but followed when Will gestured him over. Who knew what the family slave had in mind for this? In the back of his head, the sorcerer apprentice wondered if it wasn’t an incredibly stupid idea to stand right in front of a prepared demon like this, but he knew that Will’s powers were restricted enough to keep the demon from harming any of his masters in any way.

Will raised his hands and let a couple of items float over to the empty space between him and Mason. The boy tilted his head. But let it happen. Once there was a variety of ten different things, Will looked up again. “You see, most magic master and Stanford, and by extension you, practice, is based on the items you interact with. Your telekinesis requires more power if you lift a larger and heavier object. Channelling with two hands is easier after a certain size or weight, because you have two anchor points.” He explained carefully. “With a smaller item, it is not practical to use two hands, because you have to coordinate both points very precisely to make the object do what you want. For example, this pen.” Will made the pen float over to him with one hand raised. “You need only one hand, it weighs barely anything, and it is very small.” He raised his other hand. “If I add my second focus point, I will have to make the two work as one, while coming from different angles, that have to nearly cross eachother to be able to both hold on to it.” He let the pen lower again, using both hands as he had just explained. “It is just like the math, where you had to calculate the angles of the triangles, and the way vertexes are affected when the lines change direction even slightly. Master Stanford is trying to teach you to synchronize your focus point, through this math. What I think is that if you are able to feel the way they push and pull; it will be much easier for you to understand the way they interact with eachother.” The servant explained and Mason frowned. It all seemed very weird, but he rather worked with his magic than with those stupid calculations, so he might as well try. He had nothing to lose anyway. Stanford was already disappointed with how bad he was at this.

To his surprise, Will’s method proved to be very effective. By using both hands to try to make the pen do what he wanted it to do, Mason learned that keep his hands closer together was good if he wanted to move the pen in one direction for a longer distance, but that he needed to spread his arms for precise and small adjustments. He figured that the angle of the tip was affected more if the base line was shorter, and that made it harder to make small adjustments. Once he could actually visualize the lines he had been struggling with on paper, it started to make sense. He experimented with direction change for a while, and William kept a close eye on it. Mason also saw that if he didn’t keep his hands in the right position, he risked snapping the pen in half. Of course, he would make the angle so that the pen was no longer in the tip of the triangle. It made sense, and while the numbers themselves were not easier, at least he could work from a central point now. The basics were the same every time, as Will had explained to him. And now that he saw how the adjustments worked, he could finish the rest of the work a lot quicker than before. Will collected the empty teacup and silently left Mason alone, once he saw that his help was no longer needed. Hopefully, he had done something good today. With everyone wanting to be left alone all the time, Will had a lot of time to do work, but it did get lonely at some point. This had been a nice change.

And it would be left with this. The servant kept his word, and since it worked, he regularly checked up on Mason to see if the boy needed help again. After the small objects were fully covered, Will moved on to larger things. Mason soaked up the information like a sponge, ten times more effectively than the dry homework sheets Stanford provided. And the success did not go unnoticed. Mason was beaming with pride when his great uncle commented on the sudden progress and explained that it might soon be time to start with more advanced magic. “I told you, if you stopped complaining and actually put your mind on your work, as you should, you would see the result and we would be able to move forward.” The sorcerer spoke to his nephew, who barely managed to hide his smirk. Since Will started helping him find his own method of learning, he was starting to see how blind his great-uncle was to certain possibilities. How the man was stuck in the ways he used himself. Will was so much more open to suggestions, much more willing to go along with what people truly needed. He was able to determine a better path, and Mason was turning away from the stiff protocol the sorcerer put on the whole house. For the first time since he could remember, Mason wanted to be free, and he was starting to see he could be free if he spread his own wings instead of gliding on someone else’s.

The demon returned to the study one afternoon and found himself in a bit of a dire situation. Mason had already started practicing and was moving two fairly heavy cabinets in Will’s direction. With surprising grace, the blue Cipher leaped up and landed light as a feather on top of one of the cabinets. The boy looked up and the words that came out of his mouth were almost shocking for the servant to hear. “Oh, sorry Will. I was just trying out how much weight I can pull. I didn’t mean to almost crush you.” He rubbed the back of his head, a bit awkward. He had come to like the demon, seeing that Will wasn’t truly useless. He was made to think that over time, but truly, the servant was reliable and honest. “Oh, I understand. It can’t always be easy to control such heavy objects. But on the bright side, the heavier you are able to move, the closer you are to being able to lift yourself.” Will came down from the cabinet again. Mason stared at him. “You mean, levitating?” He asked, trying to hide a certain excitement in his voice. Will nodded. “Of course, I mean levitating. It is a very efficient way of moving at times, especially if your legs are not accessible for any reason.” He spoke up and smiled. “It is fairly easy to me, as I am light. For humans it is not that easy, because not only do you need to carry your own body weight, but you also have to make sure it goes in the direction you want.” He added, and Mason’s excitement grew visibly. “You have to teach me that!” He commanded, but the demon cringed. “I cannot. Master Stanford has forbidden me from teaching you beyond what he is working on with you. If you wish to learn this before he starts teaching you, I am afraid you will have to do that on your own.”

After that, the two went over what they had been working on so far. The boy was a lot more trusting in the lessons now. Will could see clearly that the young master had a talent in magic, and in many situations, he would have considered this an exciting thing. However, he had seen what magic had done to the Gleefuls. Stanford had not exactly become gentler as his powers grew, and with the master at the head of the house, William was not quite sure if the children would turn out much different. And yet, his desire to help had won it already, which was why he was helping Mason in the first place. Talents like these should definitely be cherished, no matter how dangerous it was. And maybe, the demon could show the children that there were more ways to utilize such powers. So far it seemed to be working, but he was still careful and a bit on his guard to avoid getting hurt.

Mason was indeed reacting well, and after they had gone through everything, he sat down on his chair and stared at the servant. “You were very quick when I almost crushed you.” He mentioned casually, and Will flinched. “I learned a few things over time. I used to float everywhere, and dodging things is easier that way. And as I said, I am very light, but I am also strong. I can jump well.” He spoke carefully, and Mason gave him a smirk. “I was almost expecting you to mention you watched my sister while she was doing her little show.” He mocked both Will and Mabel like that. The demon shook his head. “Not at all. Her lady is still human, my body works slightly different.” He mentioned, and the boy raised his hand. “Yeah, yeah, I know. But it’s interesting. I want to test my skills tomorrow. Meet me in the ballroom. I will make sure Mabel has something better to do. I am going to keep you up in the air.” He said confidently. Will rubbed the back of his neck, a bit nervous about this idea. “Don’t worry. Stanford won’t hear about this. I have better things to do than listen to him. Be there tomorrow after breakfast. Leave the rest to me. Now leave. Great-uncle wants to check my work.” Mason dismissed the slave with a gesture. Will retreated to his own room for a few minutes, taking a deep breath. This was nice. Mason and he were finally getting along a little bit better.


End file.
